1 comments about The Styles of Ornament.

1. I have had this book in my reference/design library for nearly 40 years and it has never let me down. Whether I wanted to find tiny elements or sweeping gestures to help push a design foreword, I've always found the inspiration I hoped for. In addition, it's just plain fun to browse through!
   About a zillion fantastic drawings make me think about the early archaeologists recording sights unimaginable to share with the rest of their world. Stone arches, iron gateways, tapestries, stained glass, furniture, it's all represented here.
   I highly recomment adding this collection to your collection ASAP!
   Don't forget to have fun! - Tod

No comments about DC Universe Illustrated by Neal Adams Vol. 01.

1 comments about All About Techniques in Illustration.

1. I like to draw when I have the time. I'm not all that good at it, but it's a relaxing and enjoyable hobby. So with that disclaimer, let me say that this book gave me a decent overview of a variety of illustration techniques along with useful examples of how the art is produced from start to finish. The book is nicely designed and there are photos and illustrations on every page along with informative text. I found it curious that all of the excellent example work was by European illustrators -- but when I came upon the copyright page in the back of the book, it notes that this title was originally published in Spain. The material it covers is probably too elementary for professional or formally-schooled artists, but for beginners and amateurs it's an easy-to-read compendium of techniques that will stimulate your creative juices.

1 comments about Islamic Design (Dover Pictura).

1. I am a graphic designer for a magazine, and I use Dover publications often in both my professional and personal work. I have to represent many different cultures with the layouts I create. The Islamic patterns in this book and CD-Rom set are beautiful, and very useful. The price is so cheap, even if you only end up using a few images, it is a good deal. They can help put the viewer in the culture when the photo shoot needed help and an appropriate stock photo is not available. The printed book itself is attractive and pleasant to browse through.
   
   One drawback is that the sources are not identified. It would be nice to know something about the background behind each design: where is it from, is it characteristic of any particular Islamic group? I would like to be able to use the images as intelligently as possible, and a little education along with the artwork would be nice.
   
   I haven't used them yet, but there are also vector versions: over 70, all one color pieces. The quality varies, but at the price, I have no complaint. At least some of them will be useful, from what I have seen.
   
   Overall, I would recomemd this book; you won't find a less expensive collection of Islamic art with this high lvel of quality and variety of formats.

No comments about William Morris Stained Glass Coloring Book (Dover Pictorial Archives).

5 comments about Character Modeling with Maya and ZBrush: Professional polygonal modeling techniques.

1. The book arrives and I'm hoping that it will shed some light on the workflow between Maya and Zbrush, with displacement and normals and so forth. I was hoping it would give me some insight to Zbrush and how to use it professionally. Instead.. I really have no words for how bad this book is. It is written for Maya beginners, but it also demands that you know stuff already. It goes in to detail on some things, and then skips other things completely. it is full of pictures, so that the book seems bigger and more pro, but alas, it shines through that this book is is not worth the paper it was printed on. I work with Maya every day professionally. Instead, I would recommend you to do a search for "video tutorial" or something like that on Google or Youtube.



2. I bought this book earlier today Borders and I have to say this book is certainly something, but that doesn't necessarily mean its good. For a book titled Modeling with Maya AND ZBrush, this book just barely covers ZBrush. There is a 2 page tutorial on correcting bad topology in ZBrush but thats about it. This book slightly covers the tools and interface of ZBrush but even than its minimal.
   On the plus side, this book does a decent job of covering modeling characters with polygons. Matter of fact, I'd say 95% of this book is dedicated to just polygonal modeling.
   
   Side note: Reading through the small section of anatomy, I was unexpectedly hit with several nude pictures. It was totally unexpected and very much unneeded. There was no accompanying text explaining why it was there, it just was. I've spent several months studying anatomy so the pictures didn't bother me, but it felt to me as if the pictures were just thrown in there to add on to the total page count.



3. This is a great book for creating characters in maya and refining them in zbrush. It is written by a pro (the guy was Lead 3D Technical Artist at LucasArts) so he definitely knows what he's talking about. He covers the whole art pipeline process and gives a great overview, but also goes into great detail. It's the best 3D book I own, and I own many!



4. I tried atleast 4 different task from this book and none of them worked. I don't think this guy has ever used the applications he is writing about. This book isn't for intermediates or begginners, I think it's for experts who stepped away from 3D for awhile and need a quick reminder course on how to do things. The author didn't draw me into the text, just frustrated me and cut me off with a "see ya sucker". If you like to figure things out on your own or buy books that sit on your bookshelf, this book might be what your looking for. I may not have gone into enough detail about why this book sucks, but the author didn't go into enough accurate detail to make this book not suck.



5. I found this book to be one of the best intermediate books out there for both Maya and Z-Brush. Be sure to read the recommendations at the beginning of the book. Great stuff with easy to read tips that can be applied immediately. There are lots of things about this book that I like better than the Autodesk books. This gets to the point quicker, instead of spinning you around with overview or "Before you begin.." or "Conventions used in this book.." type of junk. If you've made it through one of the beginning Autodesk books and want to expand out a little, this book works great.

No comments about Linoleum Block Printing (Dover Craft Books).

4 comments about Christmas Decorations from Williamsburg.

1. Creative projects for homemade Christmas decorations make this book a great gift.. If you can part with it!



2. I bought this book for my neighbor and when it came I wanted to keep it! She had recently visited Williamsburg and came back with stories of how she loved the Christmas decorating and wanted to emulate things for her own home.
   I've never been to Williamsburg myself, but this book was beautiful! The pictures were professional (I've seen books where they were not) and there were instructions on how to make the decor yourself. Well worth it! I will probaly get one for myself for next season!



3. Since I love boxwood growing in the yard and using the beautiful greens at Christmas, I found this book to be one of the most informative books I own about Christmas greens. The instructions on how to create many decorations for the inside and outside the home are very clear. The pictures are gorgeous. I have learned to make garlands, wreaths, centerpieces, swags, boxwood trees, and other lovely items. The book features many different types of greens to use for creating holiday decorations. I have taught many others how to make holiday decorations that are featured in this book.



4. This book has lovely ideas for decoarting using natural materials. I found many of the ideas could be done very inexpensively.

1 comments about Mechademia 1: Emerging Worlds of Anime and Manga (Mechamedia).

1. The full table of contents for this book is as follows:
   
   "The Japan Fad in Global Youth Culture and Millennial Capitalism"
   by Anne Allison
   
   "Globalizing Manga: From Japan to Hong Kong and Beyond"
   by Wendy Siuyi Wong
   
   "The World of Anime Fandom in America"
   by Susan Napier
   
   "Costuming the Imagination: Origins of Anime and Manga Cosplay"
   by Theresa Winge
   
   "Assessing Interactivity in Video Game Design"
   by Mark J.P. Wolf
   
   "Mori Minoru's Day of Resurrection"
   Introduced by Takayuki Tatsumi
   
   "Superflat and the Layers of Image and History in 1990's Japan"
   by Thomas Looser
   
   Kurenai no Metalsuits, "Anime to wa nani ka/What is animation"
   by Ueno Toshiya, translated by Michael Arnold
   
   "Anime: The Multiplanar Image."
   by Thomas Lamarre
   
   "The Werewolf in the Crested Kimono: The Wolf-Human Dynamic in Anime and Manga"
   by Antonia Levi
   
   "Metamorphosis of the Japanese Girl: The Girl, the Hyper-Girl, and the Fighting Beauty"
   by Mari Kotani
   
   "Revolutionary Girl Utena: Manga and Anime Citations"
   Compiled by Timothy Perper and Martha Cornog
   
   
   REVIEW & COMMENTARY SECTION
   (Edited by Timothy Perper and Martha Cornog)
   
   "Metropolis," reviewed by Bill Benzon; "Adult Manga: Culture and Power in Contemporary Japanese Society," by Sharon Kinsella, reviewed by Vern Bullough; "Mobile Suit Gundam," by Tomino Yoshiyuki, translated by Fred Schodt, reviewed by Patrick Drazen; "Maria-Sama ga Miteru" and "Azumanga Daioh," reviewed by Marc Hairston; "Manga: 60 Years of Japanese Comics," by Paul Gravett and "Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews," by Fred Patten, reviewed By Brian Ruh; "Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Adolescence of Utena,"by Saito Chiho, reviewed by Timothy Perper and Martha Cornog.
   
   TORENDO SECTION
   (Edited by Michelle Ollie)

1 comments about Maya Designs (Coloring Book).

1. I originally bought this book while researching designs for a
   Mayan tattoo. I bought this book in Taos NM, of all places, and that
   was in 1988! It has remained one of my most prized posessions. I
   will forget about it but I always panic when I can't remember where it is. Many of the designs in the book include glyphs,murals,carvings and a few have been redrawn from illustrations in scholarly journals. It is well worth the price!
   If you enjoy beautiful Mayan art you must buy this book.